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Oil Change - synthetic??

I have the new altima hybrid. I love it. I took it for the first oil change at 3750 miles. The dealer told me that you can only use synthetic oil not the regular oil. Does anyone know if this is true? It is about $80 every change which is very expensive. I called a different dealer and they told me the regular oil if fine. One other question is if they used synthetic oil, can I switch back to regular oil? I called Nissan corporate and they never called me back.

If it calls for 0W-20 then

If it calls for 0W-20 then its only available as a synthetic. Why? Because of the naturally higher viscosity index of synthetic oil. Oils thin when heated and thicken when chilled. The less the oil's viscosity changes with changing temperature, the higher its viscosity index. The 0W designation denotes cold weather pumpability while the 20 is the viscosity at operating temp.
If the owner's manual says you can use 5W-20 or 5W-30, go ahead, but they will not give the best fuel economy and engine protection as say Amsoil ASM 0W-20 which also allows for extended oil drain intervals.
Mike www.number1synthetic.com

I just had my 2007 AH

I just had my 2007 AH serviced (20K miles on it) at a different dealer than where I had purchased it because they had an internet oil/filter special ($44.95 for 3 oil changes, 27 point inspection and car wash). When at the dealership, the service manager said that the special will cost more for hybrids because the factory speciifies synthetic oil. The price then went to $124.95 (for 3 oil/filter changes). Without the special each oil/filter change was $80.00 (seems to be the going rate). I asked the service manager why synthetic and he said because of the high operating temps and the continuous on and off of the ICE. $80 bucks = no way but $41.65/change, I can live with. He also recommended to stay with a 3750 mileage frequency - I don't think so!!!
I don't know what the previous dealer was using as my oil/filter changes had been free up to 20K mileage.
i also looked in my owners manual and did not see any reference specifying synthetic oil. Based on the owners manual, nonsynthetic should be ok.
What have others experienced.

I talkled with my service

I talkled with my service manager. I found I can get the 0W20 mobile 1 at walmarts for about $6/qt, the dealer charged $10/qt. I asked if I could provide the oil and the service manager said that was fine so I've been getting my mobile 1 at walmart and saving about $4/qt (or $20/change).

We have a 2010 Camry Hybrid

We have a 2010 Camry Hybrid and were on regular oil, until the Toyota technician told us that we could either stay on regular oil to be changed every 5000 miiles or move to synthetic oil to be changed every 10000 miles. Apparently the 2010 model is the first model year where the official Toyota oil change recommendation is increased to 10000 mile for synthetic oil.

The cost / mile (in our case) are actually lower.
We received a $ 25 oil change coupon from Toyota. That did include labor and parts, but no oil. Without using the coupon, the original oil change for regular oil would have costed about $ 40 including the oil and tax .
We actually paid $ 33.47 (after coupon and tax) using syntheric oil. Without the coupon the costs would have been $ 58.50 or less than twice the price for double the miles / oil change.

So, while the synthetic oil is about double the price of regular oil, costs for filter, gasget and labor stay the same, the doubling of miles between oil chsanges makes the synthetic oil lower in cost/mile.

Synthetic oil is much better since it is a spectrum of synthetic esters designed to each have the best lubricating properties and the desired viscosity profile. This spectrum of different esters is put together such that the mixture has much better lubricating properties than natural oil over the engine temperature range. Consequently, the engine will have both less wear and a slightly better energy efficiency.
In addition, you only have to go to the garage for an oil change half the time. which is both less hasle and costs less time (= money).

Hence, if Nissan "allows" a 10,000 mile oil change for synthetic oil, it is a no brainer: Go for the synthetic oil.
If not, and they force you to go for the 5,000 mile oil change or otherwise lose your warrantee, the $18.50 difference is still small enough that I would go for the synthetic oil anyhow.

Still to find out whether the theoretical lower friction due to the synthetic oil results in a measurable (I mean for us significant) improvement in gas mileage or that it all falls within the margin of error.

I think that having an oil

I think that having an oil change can be similar to having an oil filter change. I'd suggest to get those branded parts litke Hastings Brand and others that you can have stayed a longer in order to have it running good. Also, try to really see stuffs that you can find whether you need an oil change or not. Hope that all will be well by now.